Ochre in the Apt area, an industrial adventure.

The French ochre industry in the Vaucluse has always exported most of its production all over the world. Known since antiquity, the yellow or red ochre is a mineral pigment with a more or less pronounced colour according to its iron oxide content. Yellow and red ochres have a wide range of colours from lemon yellow to tobacco brown through golden yellow. The red tones can vary according to the type of soil, and can also be modified by calcination (Burnt Umber for example). Read more

Chauvin, a family saga!

The company was created by Paul Chauvin in 1890. Ochre was a family affair: the sons or daughters helped their father and then took over. In 1911 the company was renamed Paul Chauvin et fils. It then became Chauvin Frères (after the brothers Antonin and Paul Chauvin) in 1933.

In 1952, Antonin Chauvin opened up the market for ochre packed in small quantities. He died in 1957 hard at work extracting ochre while mining a cliff at the Colorado site in Rustrel.Read more